10 of the Most Incredible Natural Phenomena on Earth

For millions of years, mother nature has been instrumental in injecting wonders into our planet. Theoretically, it would be impossible to convince someone that some of the breathtakingly fascinating natural phenomena exist, but they do indeed exist. Although nature can be untamed and brutal sometimes, the manifestation of its power also creates beauty on earth, making it an exciting place for humans to live. Locomoting stones, blood rain, everlasting lighting storms are some of the unusual, beautiful and incredibly marvelous phenomenon by the workings and power of nature. Here a list of ten of the most incredible natural phenomena that will take your breath away.

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1. Catatumbo Lightning: The Everlasting Storm, Venezuela

Weather conditions around the world contribute to natural phenomena that leave human beings witnessing them dumbfounded. The Catatumbo lighting, a powerful atmospheric phenomenon that occurs exclusively at the mouth of Catatumbo river where it pours into Lake Maracaibo is one of such. On average, the lightning occurs in 280 nights per year, and it lasts for around 10 hours per day at a frequency of 280 flashes per hour. This explains the names, “Everlasting lighting” and “the Beacon of Maracaibo.” The lightning flashes originate from the clouds that hang about 4 kilometers above, and it is so bright and intense that it is visible 250 miles away. Given it lasts 10 hours a night, there is constant illumination of Lake Maracaibo and the surrounding areas. Historically, the colonial soldiers used the light from the Catatumbo lightning to navigate the region at night.

Several scientists have endeavored to study the phenomenon at Catatumbo and determine its origin in vain. There are just speculations concerning the source of the storm. Melchor Centeno speculates that the source of the thunderstorm is the closed wind in the region. The second speculation by the University of Andes suggests that the lighting is caused by the presence of uranium that is believed to be in the bedrock. Andrew Zavrotsky speculates that the cold and worm current meeting in the region is the cause of the natural phenomenon. Therefore, this incredible natural phenomenon is scientifically unexplainable.[1]

2. The Great Blue Holes, Belize

The Great Hole is located at approximately 73 miles off the coast of Belize in the Caribbean Sea, strategically designated in the middle of the Lighthouse Reef. It is not only the deep blue sea but also the deep blue hole – the most significant natural formation of its kind. The enormous hole is an underwater sinkhole circular in shape, 410 feet deep and over 984 feats wide formed over 15,000 years ago when the sea water level was shallow and when the ocean began to rise. Its location in the reef makes it one of the great Barrier Reef Reserve system, a UNESCO (United Nation Educational, science, and cultural organization) world heritage site. Though there are another lesser, know Blue Holes in Belize such as the inland sinkhole located 12 miles south of Belmopan City right at the center of the country. The spot is on Hummingbird Highway making it a natural swimming pool, attracting both local and foreign tourists.

The Great Hole serves as a center of recreational activities such as scuba diving among others. It offers scuba divers an opportunity to venture into crystal clear water and explore the myriad marine life in the deep blue sea. Because of the lighting and the depth, the Great Blue Hole is the home of several rare species of marine life. The aquatic life species habituating in the great blue hole encompass the tropical fish, giant groupers, spectacular coral formations, nurse sharks, and a host of reef sharks such as Carcharhinus limbatus or the Blacktip sharks, and the Caribbean reef sharks. Great divers such as NASA scientist Glen Collinson describes it as “…the deepest, deep blue hole imaginable; A chasm that fell away deep into the deep, dark blue…”[2]

3. Auroras Borealis, Scandinavia & Northern Canada

The auroras Borealis forms a spectacular display of light designated in the high latitude regions around the world like Antarctic or northern areas. Many have described the phenomena as the polar lights based on the areas that they are formed or displayed. Source of the auroras according to scientific perspective is the trajectory of the charged solar wind particles on the earth, where the precipitated protons and electrons are ironized to emit the spectacular lights with varying colors and magnanimity. The color and form are dependent on the speed of the precipitated particles. For instance, proton auroras form in the lower latitude emitting green colored lights.

The auroras light such as the ones that occur in the curtain arc builds bright and vivid light. It happens almost every year in the Scandinavia. The other form is the diffuse glow which is less visible especially with naked eyes. It is displayed under a varied of colors such as red, ultraviolet, yellow, green, pink, orange among others creating an incredible visual sight. The auroras are classified as either Aurora Australis (southern lights) and auroras Borealis (northern lights) displaying same features and simultaneously alternating over time.[3]

4. Lenticular Clouds

Lenticular clouds are described as altocumulus standing lenticularis, are the work of mother nature through atmospheric and climatic conditions creating one of the fascinating natural phenomena in the sky. The lenticular clouds are lens-shaped forms of cloud formed primarily at high altitudes such as mountains, highlands, and even on tall buildings. The phenomenal clouds are aligned at right angles to the direction of the wind in the region. The moisturized air blowing over the mountains or the high-altitude lands condenses to form the dramatic clouds that appear like lenticular lens-shaped clouds.

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Amazingly, the lenticular clouds form at the crest of the waives, other occasions they form strings of lenticular clouds forms which are termed as wave clouds. These incredible clouds scare the pilots, especially power pilots, they avoid flying near lenticular clouds because of the turbulence of the rotor system that accompanies them while the sailplanes seek the lenticular clouds. The scientist has over time mistaken the lenticular clouds for UFO visual cover because of its features such as dark, lens appearance, and saucer-like shape.[4]

5. Bioluminescent Waves in Maldives, Thailand

The luminous wet sand shorelines light the beaches across several regions around the world. Among the most recognized bioluminescent waves beaches include the Puerto Rico, Maldives, Thailand among other areas. The phenomenon is described as a magical phenomenon. When the waves blow on the beaches, the wet sand is left glowing bright green-blue light. The bright green-blue glow originates from the substantial number of populations of microscopic phytoplankton that are highly bioluminescent. The phytoplankton’s chemical energy reacts to produce the green-blue light that results in the incredible illuminating waves of natural phenomenon. According to scientists, the plankton’s glow to provide the light because of stress which is fascinating when you consider the peaceful appearance in the night.[5]

6. Blood Rain, India

The world has been at a standstill on several occasions because of the occurrence of immemorial torment with things that cannot be explained scientifically. In other cases, such events threaten the very existence of magic and the causality that humans are accused of seeing. One such event is the blood rain in Kerala, India, occurred first in 1896, and it happened several other times after that. In 2001, the world was baffled with the mysterious red rain between July 25, and September 23, the massive red rain poured causing pink stains on the locals’ clothes. The most recent reports of the dumbfoundingly unexplainable natural phenomenon blood rain were in July 2012.

The scientists and other scholars launched several studies to investigate the phenomenon. Some scientists concluded that the meteor burst caused blood rain in Kerala while others suggest that the was due to the desert dust that originated from the Arabian Desert. The attempt to explain the natural phenomenon seems to be futile because all the speculations were later ruled out. It is the incredible work of nature.[6]

7. Hessdalen Light, Norway

The sight of mysterious balls of light hovering over the valley in central Norway has perplexed scientists and scholars over the years trying to explain the phenomena. The origin of the Hessdalen valley light in Norway is unknown, and many tourists travel to the region to witness the attractive display of light. The size of the balls varies with some as big as a car, and they appear floating or stationary over the ground, while at other times the light balls move at fantastic speed. Duration sometimes varies the light lasts over an hour otherwise shorter term.

The first documented appearance of the Hessdalen lights was in the 1940s. The most prolonged and high frequency was reported in as from the 1981 December to the summer of 1984 with the light appearing at a rate of 15-21 times per week. However, today the light is only observed 10 to 20 times per year. One of the scientific theories advanced to explain the phenomenon claims that the hard rocks in the Valley divided by the Sulphurous River provides the right condition for creating the original battery for the orbs. The scientist claims that the ionized bubbles of Sulphur fumes react with humid air forming balls of light.[7]

8. Sailing Stones in the Death Valley, California

The first incident recorded of the sailing stones in the Death Valley was 1915, in the driest places in North America. The geological phenomenon of sailing stones has baffled millions of people from all walks of life until the secret was revealed in 2014; the rocks move from one place to other altering directions. Due to the hostile climatic conditions in the region, no living organisms move around. Therefore, the locomoting stones leave trails that are unaffected by anything. The rocks seem to locomote closer to each other, and other times they change direction abruptly moving left, right, or back to where they came from. The stones of the same size and shape move the same distance and at the same speed, however, some stop suddenly or move further ahead. The scientists have been studying the sailing stones of Death Valley National Parke California since the 1900s in vain. However, in 2014, the scientists finally figured out the cause of the movement and why they do so use the time lapse video footage. The stones move because of thin ice sheet melting causing the stones to move at the speed of low winds.[8]

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9. River Under the Black Sea

The scientists discovered huge river flowing underneath the Black sea, explaining how life manages to survive in the interior depth of the sea where nutrients would have been otherwise difficult to be found. According to scientist’s estimation, the river would have been the sixth largest river on land in terms of water volume flowing through it. The undersea river channels the saline water flowing along the seabed through Bosporus strait under the Black Sea. This discovery confirms the existence of small channels emanating from the mouth of the Amazon River to the Atlantic Ocean.

The Black Sea undersea river is the first of its kind, and the scientists reveal that such a natural phenomenon can only be explored using specialized vehicles due to its power and unpredictability. The length of the river is estimated to be 38miles long, 0.6 miles wide and 115 feet in depth. The undersea river flows at a speed of 4 miles per hour and carries 22, 000 cubic meter volume of water per second. The features in the undersea river resemble the surface river characteristics such as waterfalls, riverbanks, floodplains, and rapid flows.[9]

10. Turquoise Ice Crystals in Lake Baikal, Russia

Fantastic turquoise ice crystals are formed on Lake Baikal during winter as the lake freezes. The Lake Baikal in Russia is the largest freshwater lake on earth, and it is also the oldest lake existing on the surface of the planet for over 20 million years. According to various studies, the Lake Baikal contains around 20% of all the earth’s freshwater. The lake has the most transparent water in the world. It is also the home of the most unusual varieties of flora and fauna of which 1600 is endemic to the Lake Baikal in Russia. During winter, when the lake freezes it forms large shards of transparent ice forms on the surface of Lake Baikal, which give the lake an incredible phenomenon in turquoise ice.[10]